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BU enters partnership with Reading Area Community College

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and Reading Area Community College Dual Admission Partnership Leads to Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership

For immediate release: April 17, 2014

BLOOMSBURG — An agreement signed Wednesday, April 16, by David L. Soltz, president of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, and Anna D. Weitz, president of Reading Area Community College, formalized plans to bring BU’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership to RACC students.

BU forged a similar agreement two years ago with Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville, enabling students who earn an associate’s degree in applied science to complete courses for the bachelor’s degree at the community college campus. The program’s upper-level courses help provide graduates with the skills needed for supervisory and leadership positions.

Details on the new agreement are provided below in information from Reading Area Community College.

The agreement establishes program-to-program guaranteed admissions for students who complete the requirements for an Associate of Applied Science degree at Reading Area Community College to enter into the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership degree program. Planning is currently underway to ensure that students will complete the entire degree requirements on RACC’s campus or online.

The Technical Leadership program provides the knowledge and skills necessary to assume leadership roles in workgroups and project teams — skills necessary for career advancement in a rapidly changing, globalized workplace. The leadership focus of the program covers areas sought by employers, including:

Effective communication and collaboration

Team leadership and project management

Staff training and development

Workplace and cultural diversity

Financial and supervisory knowledge

Conflict management and resolution

The agreement also extends to students of Berks Career and Technology Center and Reading Muhlenberg Career and Technology Center, and students who are enrolled in the RACC-CTC Technical Academy partnership. This pathway creates a 2+2+2 articulation model that allows students to progress seamlessly from the secondary CTC, complete their community college degree and finally complete a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution.

The intent of the partnership is:

To demonstrate the establishment of a seamless program-to-program guaranteed admissions agreement that involves the participating community college and a four-year bachelor’s degree granting institution.

To enable qualified graduates of Reading Area Community College to build upon their education and training by earning a baccalaureate degree.

To enable Bloomsburg University to attract a more diverse population of students to the Technical Leadership program.

To enable community college graduates to obtain a quality education at a low cost and in doing so provide the Commonwealth with qualified technical leaders.

To ensure recognition of the continuity of academic progress and transferability of credits between two-year and four-year programs.

This is the first such partnership for Reading Area Community College that allows the opportunity for its career and technology students to earn a bachelor’s degree on its campus. The partnership extends the effort of the College to prepare a skilled and educated workforce to fill the pipeline of workers needed by area employers.

“Our campuses may be geographically separated by about 75 miles, but our missions to serve Pennsylvania students could not be more closely connected,” says Bloomsburg University President David L. Soltz, Ph.D. “I am delighted to enter into this agreement on behalf of Bloomsburg University, bringing our Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership to Reading Area Community College students who will become Bloomsburg graduates.”

“Pennsylvania’s community colleges and Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities are uniquely positioned to fulfill the training and educational requirements of employers,” says RACC President Anna D. Weitz, D.Ed. “This partnership with Bloomsburg University is one more example of our commitment to working together to further the economic and workforce development of our State.”

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university, celebrating 175 years of excellence in 2014, serves approximately 10,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Education, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.